


will you be my (beautiful) distraction?

by SYuuri



Category: Beauty and the Beast (2017), Beauty and the Beast - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff fest, Shakespeare also gets a shoutout, did i say fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-04-18
Packaged: 2018-10-20 17:34:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10667490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SYuuri/pseuds/SYuuri
Summary: In which Adam is trying to distract himself from work by distracting Belle.orHow many times can Adam fluster his Beloved by reciting one of her favorite writers?





	will you be my (beautiful) distraction?

“Adam…”

“Yes?”

“Adam.”

The warning did nothing to deter him. His deep chuckles reverberated through the room, bouncing off the high ceilings and overlapping the gentle cracking of the embers burning low in the fireplace. Belle had never thought she would find a sound as comforting as her father’s music box, but there she was, letting his easy, happy merriment envelope her like a downy blanket.

He didn’t stop; long finger slowly and lightly (drove her to the point of insanity) continued to trace letters on her palm. _V… E…_ It was ticklish, wholeheartedly _distracting_ and exactly what Adam wanted her to feel.

Belle sighed, finally turning from the book in front of her to face her insufferable, hopeless fiancé. He was smiling, likely had already been smiling since he started his endeavor five minutes ago, and raised his eyebrow in question. His bright blue eyes currently gave a false impression of an innocence she knew belied the tricks and mischief beneath. “Yes, my love?”

“Don’t you have letters to finish?” It was more of a statement than a question. Her eyes flicked over to a handful of sealed envelopes scattered in front of him and to the even taller stack of papers next to them. A big pile of books had been cleared away to make rooms for his makeshift desk. “Mountains of them, you said. Cogsworth would have your head on a platter if you didn’t finish at least half of them by lunch, you said,” Belle repeated his words, shaking her head at her dramatic prince.

Adam had been having the time of his life distracting her and needless to say they both had made very little progress with their work– Adam with his letters, and Belle with her book. “And I still haven’t the slightest idea of what he would say when he finds out you’ve conveniently relocated your study to the library-“

“He would commend me on a wise decision well made. The library has much better lighting.” Adam scoffed, waving his hand as if it was an obvious reason. “Besides, if my company distracts you so much, why, there is more than plenty of space in this library you could have escaped to. Your favorite armchair by the fireplace, mayhap? Wouldn’t be as comfortable, certainly,” he winked and reached out to push stubborn tendrils of hair off her face, gentle fingers lingering over her cheekbone.

Belle gave a small eye roll, feeling the tips of her ears turn red for having been called out. “I am asking myself the same question. I’m starting to wonder if perhaps I am a masochist.”

“Well, then, that makes the two of us.”

She narrowed her eyes albeit unable to suppress a small smile. “I’m sure it looks that way from where you are sitting.”

His fingers filled the space between hers as he leaned forward until he could nuzzle her ear with his nose. “ _One half of me is yours, the other half yours. Mine own, I would say; but if mine, then yours. And so all yours.”_ Adam pulled back half an arm length, looking almost sheepish. Banter and teasing were temporarily shelved. His gaze was sure and she was helpless but to drown in the depth of his eyes. “I adore you so immensely that it hurts, Belle.”

Oh _. Oh._ Oh! How she loathed his ability to turn her into a quivering mess just as effortlessly as breathing! She was no stranger to good words of compliments -God knows Gaston had forced them on her enough to last a lifetime- but it was almost criminal how Adam could let loose tons of butterflies in her stomach just by… existing. Let the man recite her favorite writer, and God helped her, her treacherous heart would thump faster like that of a rabbit’s. It was as infuriating as it was wonderful.

A smirk quickly replaced the warm smile upon his handsome face because he was aware of what effects he had on her (to be fair, she also had perfect knowledge of the effect she had on him. Although fortunately _for_ him, she usually preferred to silently bask in her triumph of having him wrapped around her little finger than do what he was doing at the moment), and it was what it took to bring her back.

“Just- just behave yourself,” she stammered, inwardly beating herself up at her wavering voice. She didn’t have to look into a mirror to know her cheeks were flaming. Her incorrigible _other half_ would be the death of her someday. “And I may allow you to stay.”

Adam broke into peals of laughter.

(Laughter - like that time he had managed to take her down with a massive snowball. The skin of her face burned and her back cold from lying on the stone stairwell lightly sprinkled with snow, she heard him burst into great bellows of laughter, Philippe snorting as if sharing his sentiment about the hilarity of the situation. It had been the first time she had ever heard the Beast –Adam- laugh and it stunned her into silence. It was beautiful.

“Oh, _Poppet_ , it has been such a long time,” Mrs. Potts, still a teapot then, choked in a teary hushed voice later on in the safe confinement of her bedchamber. Apparently their outdoor activity had been the source of conversation among the household staff. ”Such a very long time. The young Master- he was- oh please, do forgive silly, old Mrs. Potts! Getting so emotional!”

Mrs. Potts had been far from coherent, but it didn’t take her long to piece two and two together. She thought that the dull throb on the back of her head and her tender rosy nose were perhaps worth it.)

“You _may_ , hmm? Are you so cruel to yourself that you’re going to deprive yourself of my presence?” Belle harrumphed in response. Adam chuckled, bringing her hand to his lips, brushing them over her knuckles. There was a thin dressing around the base of her thumb as a result of an experiment gone awry, and he gave it a light kiss. “Very well, for who am I to come between a woman and her books.”

She gave him an apprehensive, playful glare, and returned to her book. Adam obviously had no desire to do the same as he kept his hand wrapped around hers. Belle suspected if she glanced his way, she would find him propping his chin up his other hand, those eyes which were too expressive for their own good solely fixated on her.

Witnessing him transform from a beast to a man (unhurt, breathing, and _alive_ ) had been an out of the world experience, but nothing could have prepared her to see him slowly but surely shed his timidity and diffidence brought on by the shame over his past action and lifestyle and slip back into this sure, poised, confident, incorrigible tease of man she now proudly called her fiancé.

Trying to banish thoughts of his eyes and otherwise from her mind, Belle willed herself to concentrate on her book. She had barely read half a sentence when his finger started moving again.

Belle didn’t know whether she would have just as great a difficulty trying to ignore Adam’s mischief if he was just tracing random patterns on her palm instead of-

“ _Not wisely_ ,” she corrected, for the umpteenth times tearing her eyes away from her book to send him the most withering, exasperated glare she could come up with. “ _I am one who loved not wisely but too well_.”

Adam laughed. “Ah, _ma moitié,_ and here I thought as an inventor you would appreciate my improvisation. No?” His eyes turned soft, his teasing grin replaced by a fond smile. “ _I am one who loved not only wisely, but also too well_.”

Belle had to physically hold her hand down, concerned they would betray her and started fanning over her face. And it had only been three weeks! Pray, what would become of her after they were wed? “You are changing the context, Adam. Also, for someone who claimed to not like Shakespeare, you memorized an awful lot of his work. Expensive education aside, are you sure you don’t harbor secret admirations for the man?”

He gave a nonchalant shrug. “I never said I disliked him. One has to admit greatness when he looks at one, after all. That being said, he did have his own fair share of questionable work.”

“I appreciate you reacquainting yourself with his literature for my sake, but it was wholly unnecessary,” she whispered, leaning over for a kiss and was delighted when he met her halfway. She smiled against his lips, pecked him one last time and pulled away. Her hand smoothed down the cerulean ribbon on the nape of his neck. “ _My bounty is as boundless as the sea. My love as deep, the more I give to thee. The more I have, for both are infinite_.”                            

Belle didn't know what sort of reactions she was hoping to provoke from Adam by reciting Juliet’s lines for Romeo, but it was definitely not the instant disgust flashing in his eyes. His nose scrunched up like he just smelled something foul. It wasn’t at all unlike the first time he had learned of her fascination for the play. Despite herself, she couldn’t hold back her laughter.

Adam still looked put out. “Darling, I don’t even know if I should take that as a compliment because Romeo isn’t exactly who I would propose as the ideal man. Far from it, to tell you the truth.”

“Oh, Adam…”

“I beg your pardon, Your Grace, Mademoiselle.”

One set of heads turned towards the door. Cogsworth was standing at the end of the table, hands neatly clasped in front of him, the corner of his lips curled up into a terse smile. They had been so preoccupied with each other that they had completely missed his entrance. Belle supposed that was what calm before the storm looked like. Cogsworth’s silver moustache seemed to appear more crooked than usual.

“I apologize for the interruption, but I have been looking for the Prince. I asked myself… where could he possibly be?” Once the mantle clock retold, his gloved hand patting his chin for effect. “Of course, the library did cross my mind, but I immediately dismissed the option because _surely_ my Prince knows how important it is that he finishes his correspondence as soon as possible,” his almond shaped eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “So imagine my surprise when I heard what sounded eerily like his laughter when I walked passed the library.”

Adam gulped audibly and Belle giggled. She gently extricated her hand from his grasp, closed her book and moved to stand on her feet. She leaned down to brush a kiss on Adam’s temple. “I’d say you are going to need bigger luck than Romeo now, Beloved.”

He mumbled a string of curse words under his breath, giving her waist a slight squeeze before dejectedly watching her taking her leave.

Before she closed the door behind her, she could vaguely hear Adam ramble on.

“But Cogsworth, everything is _so_ brilliantly bright here. Even Shakespeare agreed with me: _it is the east, and Juliet is the sun._ Although I suppose it is dimmer now.”

Flushing slightly, Belle could only imagine the confusion that would overtake Cogsworth, but oh…! That man!

 

**Author's Note:**

> Oookay, just how much do I love this movie? (SO MUCH!) It's been almost a year since I wrote anything, but this movie really inspired me. I wanna watch it again, and again, and again. 
> 
> Thank you for reading. I hope you liked it. I had fun writing it :)


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